Poll results: Should UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture retire?

At 47 years old, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture recently announced that his upcoming UFC 129 matchup with Lyoto Machida would be the last fight of his truly legendary career.

But before the announcement was made, we let our readers predict
Couture’s fate. In our latest MMAjunkie.com/”Inside MMA” poll, we asked
fans a simple question: Will a loss to Machida mean the end for
Couture?

The results were the closest in the history of the poll – a virtual dead heat. With thousands of votes coming in, just a handful of responses proved the deciding factor.

The narrowest of majorities, 50.1 percent, believe a loss should mean the end for the former dual-division world champion.

Machida is widely considered among the very best light heavyweights in the world, and despite his popularity among fans worldwide, Couture is nearly a 3-to-1 underdog in the eyes of oddsmakers. A loss would snap a three-fight winning streak for Couture, who was a guest on this week’s edition of HDNet’s MMA news program, but he said the results of the contest won’t factor into his decision to walk away from the sport.

“It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about the journey. It’s about the performance. If I go out and have a good performance, I’m going to be perfectly content.”

Of course, a great deal of voters, 49.9 percent, believe even a loss shouldn’t force Couture away from the sport, which begs a question not asked in the poll: If Couture upsets Machida, could be be enticed to stick around?

Couture believes the UFC may try and sway his decision, but he doesn’t believe his position is negotiable.

“I think that’s going to happen, probably regardless,” Couture said. “I’m going to have to test my mettle and stick to my guns. I feel really comfortable with this decision. I think it’s the right decision. and I want to go out on my own terms””

So, did the voters get it right? Is it time for Couture to finally walk away from the sport?

Also, don’t forget in this week’s new poll on the MMAjunkie.com homepage. We want to know what you think of the latest season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

And for complete coverage of UFC 129, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

HDNet’s “Inside MMA” and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) run a weekly poll thanks to a partnership between the two news outlet. Catch new episodes of “Inside MMA” on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET. For more information on “Inside MMA” and HDNet Fights,
visit www.hdnetfights.com. For more information on HDNet and how to subscribe, visit www.hd.net.